Buyers rush for medical gear

India seeking supplies as outbreak worsens

Indian companies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are following the global trend of snapping up medical supplies from China, the world's leading factory for such products.

Procurement managers from around the world are coming to buy the full array of medical supplies in China, with agents from the US and France reportedly wrestling over “ownership” of medical materials on the tarmac at a Chinese airport last week.

Although the Indian government has not asked the Chinese government to facilitate such trade, and India has a relatively small number of COVID-19 cases so far, Indian companies are moving to procure medical supplies. At least one fully loaded plane will depart from Shanghai on Thursday or Friday, the Global Times has learned.

India is so far the only BRICS country that has not officially sent a request for Chinese medical supply assistance, according to research by the Global Times.

“We have been discussing with Chinese manufacturing companies the supply of personal protective equipment suits, goggles, infrared thermometers, CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machines, BiPAP (bilevel positive airway pressure) machines and ventilators,” Indian businessman Arjun Bahri Dhawan told the Global Times on Thursday.

“We have a flight from Shanghai to Delhi later this week, if the factory can provide supplies on time. We are trying hard to ship this as soon as possible,” Dhawan said.

However, with the global rush to buy, not all items are available for purchase at the moment. Dhawan's team failed to secure any ventilators.

“We have heard that Indian government agencies are in touch with their Chinese counterparts for COVID-19 medical supplies, and some cargo flights were sent by the Indian government this week to bring supplies from China,” Mansoor Nadeem Lari, CEO of the India-based Silk Route Trade and Industry Development Corp, told the Global Times on Thursday, confirming the flight carrying made-in-China supplies.

To help India combat the virus, Chinese companies have also thrown in their support.

Three batches of donations from Chinese charity organizations — the Jack Ma Foundation and the Alibaba Foundation — arrived in Delhi as of April 4, Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Weidong tweeted. The donations included protective clothing, masks, respirators and ventilators.

Due to the sudden surge in demand for medical items worldwide, supplies are hard to come by, with extremely volatile prices and some traders hoarding stock to profiteer, Dhawan said. But the main difficulty is finding readily available stock as most factories are sold out.

“As long as we get genuine suppliers with genuine stock, we do not mind paying a premium,” Dhawan said.